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Progressive Taxation and Economic Stability

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  • Diana Alessandrini

Abstract

Recent empirical evidence finds that progressive taxation is an effective economic stabilizer, but theoretical results disagree. This paper shows that a lifecycle model with total factor productivity shocks can match the empirical evidence. If the US economy switched from progressive to proportional taxation, output volatility would increase by 5 percent. Progressive taxes act as stabilizers by reducing income volatility among the young and soon‐to‐be retirees. Thus, incorporating a rich lifecycle structure in the model is important to match the data. The model is then used to study the welfare implications of reducing tax progressivity.

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  • Diana Alessandrini, 2021. "Progressive Taxation and Economic Stability," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(2), pages 422-452, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:123:y:2021:i:2:p:422-452
    DOI: 10.1111/sjoe.12410
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    Cited by:

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    2. Krajňák Michal, 2023. "Does the Type of Nominal Personal Income Tax Rate Affect Its Progressivity? A Case Study from the Czech Republic," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 93-111, September.

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